Simple Gifts
by Nymphadora-CullenBAU
Summary: It's a not-so Silent Night at the BAU; Yodeling cats, mentions of the Doctor Who Christmas Special... And what's this about wanting to go Christmas Caroling? For the CCOAC Christmas Exchange. Written for Whitewolf20056.


_**Hey all!**_

_**My finals are done, which leaves me time to post stuff for all you patient readers! Thanks for waiting!**_

_**This is my entry for the CCOAC Christmas Gift Fic Exchange: my prompts were JJ/Hotch; Silent Night; Snow; Gifts; Stockings. Dedicated to Whitewolf20056; I hope I did well, Sweetie!**_

_**Sorry if it's short or fast or something; I had to finish it quickly at 2 AM Christmas Eve Day because mom and I are going to the MoA for last-minute shopping, but I will post it at the first opportune moment! If you're reading this now, I have succeeded! :D**_

_**I don't own CM!**_

….

JJ was ready for the weekend.

It was Thursday, the Thursday before Christmas Eve in fact, and the entire BAU office had never been so anxious to get out of the building to start the holiday. Everyone was talking excitedly about their holiday plans and had filled the office with a clatter of excited chatter: Morgan was going to Chicago to introduce a potential girlfriend to his family; Rossi was leaving that night to meet his brother and the rest of his siblings family in Florida; Garcia and Kevin were spending the holiday with Kevin's family in Virginia; Hotch would probably spend Christmas with Jack and his brother Sean; Prentiss and Reid, however, were still a mystery to JJ.

Ever since the whole fiasco with Doyle, Emily had lost touch with her mother. True, they were still on speaking terms, but both Prentiss women were about as likely to spend Christmas together this year as Morgan was likely to start singing Christmas Carols again; JJ had caught him humming "Away in a Manger" when SSA Mallory Cross returned the other day with her newborn baby boy Alex to visit her team, and Morgan had spotted the baby sleeping in his carrier. JJ still had pictures of Andi Swan holding the blue bundle of blankets, and was still convinced that Morgan would make a great father.

"Still looking for the right woman, JJ," he'd admitted before sneaking three of his files back into Reid's inbox.

Reid…. JJ had asked him time and again to join her and Will for Christmas this year, but he had claimed that he was going to Las Vegas to visit his mom; Garcia had confirmed no such purchase, and now Morgan and Prentiss were hounding the young genius with requests for holiday engagements.

"You are not spending Christmas on your own, Pretty Boy," Morgan had admonished that morning as soon as he'd met Reid in the kitchen before work began. JJ had been by the refrigerator watching the conversation, remaining unnoticed by the other two.

Reid arched one eyebrow. "What makes you think I'm spending Christmas alone?" he asked from over the cup of coffee he had been drinking.

Morgan looked surprised. "I just thought…"

Surprisingly, Reid chuckled.

"Morgan, it's alright. I'm… Well… Really, all I'm doing for Christmas is spending the entire weekend watching the Doctor Who marathon on BBC America, and then watching the Christmas Special while I order pizza."

Morgan looked shocked. "Really?"

Suddenly, Reid's face broke into a smile worthy of an entire length of Christmas lights. "No," he corrected. "But you're half right; I will be watching Doctor Who…. Just not alone. Hey, JJ!"

And with that, he walked back to his desk, leaving the other two agents gaping after him.

JJ was pulled from her reverie by the sound of her phone buzzing and her computer beeping. Both screens flashed "You've Got Mail!"

Curious, JJ opened it to find a new email from Garcia. "Let's Go Caroling!" proclaimed the subject heading, and JJ saw that it had been sent to the rest of the team.

The email consisted of a yodeling cat with a human mouth singing "Jingle Bells" and wearing a Santa hat. JJ's phone consisted of the same email with the same video. Grinning slightly, JJ walked down the hall, past the seven stockings that Garcia had hung by her office and knocked at the door.

"Enter, Mortal," called the Tech Goddess and JJ opened the door to reveal Garcia swinging her chair around to face her. "Oh good! I'm glad you're here," she cried, leaping from her chair to embrace JJ. "I got my Chocolate Thunder and Kevin the Wonderful Tech God to join us. You are joining us too, right?"

JJ nodded. "I admit that it's short notice, but I'm glad you mentioned it. We could use some holiday cheer here."

Garcia grinned, typing something into one of her computers. "That leaves Boss-Man, my favorite Italian, Emmy and the 12th Doctor….What?" she cried at JJ's face. "I swear, Reid's part Time Lord!"

"He's on his…. What, third regeneration now?" JJ joked.

"Garcia, if I was part Time Lord, I would be on my fourth regeneration right now," Reid intoned from the hallway behind JJ. "Especially with all the near-death experiences I've had."

"Right, I knew that," Garcia cooed. "Did you like my new video?"

Reid shrugged. "You had me with the cat, but the added incentive was the looped video of Rory punching Hitler to the tune of 'Deck the Halls.'"

JJ waved at the two before darting back into the hallway and back to the Bullpen to see Hotch still sitting at his desk in his office; Morgan and Prentiss were with Rossi by the coffee maker bickering about Christmas traditions. JJ wasted no time in running across the carpet to the stairs, which she took two at a time until she reached her bosses' door. There was no need to knock; she pushed it open and boldly walked to Hotch's desk.

"Garcia's putting together a caroling party," she began.

"I know," Hotch stated.

JJ looked at the files scattered on Hotch's desk.

"We're all going," she continued. "Even Rossi and Reid."

Hotch paused, looking up at JJ in surprise. "Reid can sing?"

"Apparently he can; Will swears that Reid put Henry to sleep one day with renditions of Bob Dylan songs. Surprisingly enough, I believe him."

As she spoke, JJ looked into the nearly deserted Bullpen to find that Reid, Garcia and Kevin had joined the others at the coffeepot, and that despite the discussion they were engrossed in, there was a continuous stream of furtive glances toward Hotch's office window. JJ watched from the corner of her eye as snow fell from the heavens to land on the outside window ledge and settle on the ground below.

"Hotch," JJ said. "You know as well as I do that Christmas comes only one time a year. And I understand that we have just as much work now as we do at any other time of the year, maybe even more, but this is also a time where we should celebrate the season and our family. So much has happened this year: people walked into our lives and walked out too. We almost lost one of our own, and then we got her back. We lied, kept secrets, bonded and cried. We fought to keep our team… our family… together. So let's celebrate this season with the spirit it deserves."

Somewhere in the office, someone had left a radio on a station playing continuous Christmas music, and the artist was crooning _Silent Night _with a bold but lulling tone:

_Silent night, holy night_

_All is calm, all is bright:_

_Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child:_

_Holy infant so tender and mild:_

_Sleep in Heavenly peace;_

_Sleep in Heavenly peace. _

As if in a trance, Hotch left his desk and followed JJ out into the bullpen, joining the rest of their family assembled at the coffeepot. They walked toward the elevator, none of them talking as they left the office. Someone pressed the down button, but none of them were sure who it was. When the door opened, they entered without making a sound. The doors slid shut and the BAU was silent.

A string of lights twinkled over a row of stockings hung by Garcia's door; Morgan's computer monitor was adorned with an elf's hat; Reid had left a Santa cap on the lamp on his desk; Prentiss had left a copy of _A Christmas Carol _on her desk, the pages opened to the moment where Tiny Tim cried "God bless us, everyone!"

Rossi's office had a snowglobe perched on the desk, a picture of himself and Caroline; she was three months pregnant and starting to show, a Santa hat perched on her head; Hotch's desk had a picture of Jack and Henry sitting with Santa in a Christmas-themed picture fame from Target; JJ had the same picture, but it was still in the card provided by the photo kiosk, the inside popped open.

Snow continued to fall outside the window, the blanket now covering the eight pairs of footprints that led from the building, and nothing stirred in the deserted hallways.

Except for one thing….

_Silent night, holy night…._

The radio continued to play and would do so until the battery died sometime in the early hours of Monday morning, but until then, the song continued to fill the now empty bullpen.

It really was a silent night.

….

_A/N: Version of Silent Night performed by Michael Bolton on "Christmas with the Stars."_

_If anyone is interested, the Doctor Who Christmas Special "The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe" is on TOMORROW NIGHT at 9/8 Central on BBC America! I hope you watch it! ;D_

_Also check out my other Christmas story from last year, "O Holy Night." Especially if you like this one! :D_

_Don't forget to review!_

_And finally…._

_Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!_

_*~N_CBAU~*_


End file.
